On-demand transport (ODT) is an important and popular component of public transportation as it provides a generally faster, more comfortable, and more convenient door-to-door service relative to other forms of public transportation. In the past, ODT was provided primarily in the form of taxi services. However, other types of operators, e.g. car-sharing service providers, have recently begun to offer ODT services as well.
Meanwhile, technologies such as WiFi, 3G, and GPRS and GPS location services have enabled the ODT industry to improve traditional radio communication and manual dispatching services. As compared to traditional dispatching services, more advanced systems are now available where assignments are automatically dispatched from a central dispatcher and where drivers can communicate back to the central dispatcher with a simple click on, e.g., a tablet computer. Nevertheless, current dispatching systems are often driven by a message protocol that differs very little from the one provided by traditional radio-based dispatching services.